DICK CLARK PRESENTS CHIFF & FIPPLE
January
20, 2003
I. THE CHIFF & FIPPLE GREETING BY NEW CHIFF & FIPPLE OWNER, MR. DICK CLARK
Hi, kids.
In all modesty, everything I touch turns to gold. I produced the Golden
Globes which aired this past weekend and I guess we can all agree that it was
one of the finest programs in television history. "Bandstand," which
I hosted for 57 years invented rock & roll. "Pyramid"
which I created and hosted for 31 years pioneered the use of pyramids on
television. And, I am happy to continue to be actively acquiring new
entertainment properties at my tender age of 94.
So it is with pleasure that I announce the acquisition of Red Wolverine Enterprises and it's subsidiaries, 3Fish Productions, Wet Money Industries and, of course, Chiff & Fipple. This promises to be a much more successful merger than that Martha Stewart debacle. Dale Wisely, who has done such a FANTASTIC job with chiff & fipple, will continue to be involved as the associate director of training and internships in our Southern USA bureau. Perhaps you can join me one day on the newly acquired DickForce One and we'll have a go at a few tunes.
II. Bloomfield's Improved Sindt High D
You must see this:
http://members.the-spa.com/~bloomfield/GenSindt.html
III. REAL SINDTS
For the longest time, I
had the wrong phone number for John Sindt on the webpage. It is fixed
and here it is: 845-358-4943. Also John's come out with a few
more keys and has just raised prices $5@. so John now has: E $85, Eb $85, D
$85, C# $90, C $90, B $95, Bb $95, A $95.
IV. AFTER CHRISTMAS SALE!
Chia
Whistle! Only $9.99! $1.39
V. A NEW MEMBER WRITES
Hi Dave, (I
answer to Dave, Dale, Doug, & Elizabeth).
A great site you should link to is Henrik Norbeck's Abc Tunes at
http://home.swipnet.se/~w-11382/abc.htm#abc
He's got 1600+ Irish tunes and around 300 Scandinavian tunes (if you're into
that type of thing) in ABC ASCII music format for free download in a 290k zip
file. All the good stuff is in there King of the Fairies, Brian Boru's march,
etc. I'm still wading through it myself and have yet to look at the 800 reels.
This ABC computer readable format is new to me but may be old hat to you and
your readers. It's a great way to learn to play Irish traditional music as you
have the music and can play it on the computer as well, at a suitable learning
speed, using your soundcard's midi player or even the PC speaker. I could
prattle on but as I've just lost my posting about same to your main message
board I'll simply leave you to check it out.
I don't know Henrik from a hole in the ground, but someone should pin a medal
on the guy.
I've found your own site very enjoyable, informative and witty. Problem is now
I'm drooling for a Copeland whistle. By the way, don't mind those Irish guys
who say all you need is a cheapy generation whistle. While they are miles
better than bog standard Clarke's you spend a lifetime messing with them to
get a decent sound. They are easy to play in pubs is all and it's so easy to
slide in and out of half hole with the nickel version. Besides, who cares if
they go missing. I've never met a really good traditional whistle player who
will pick up any auld feadog in a session. They always have and closely guard
that special cheapy whistle. Someone has written recently on the web that if
you have perfect pitch you don't play the tin whistle. That's bullshit. You
just don't bring an expensive whistle to an Irish pub! I'd a great laugh at
your link to the perpetual whistler modifiers as I used to spend a great deal
of time the same way.
It's great to see so many people around the world taking up the humble whistle
and playing a few tunes. It seems to be the first thing visitors to Ireland do
after hearing a traditional session even though the quality of pub music here
in Derry, N.Ireland leaves a lot to be desired. We have an expression here
called "making a reel of yourself" which translates as making a fool
of yourself in public especially with too much drink taken. One of the
great things about tin whistle playing is its suitability to a wide range of
graceful traditional music styles and haunting airs. Only the whistle can
still the most inattentive crowd.
Thanks again for a great site,
Regards,
Michael (Derry, N.Ireland).
VI. FLOOK NEWS
Hello, Dale Wisely
Happy New Year to you! Hope your Christmas and New Year
celebrations were full of love and warmth, and your resolutions are
still intact! We've all been hanging out at home these last few weeks,
and are getting ready to hit the road again this weekend, starting at
the mighty Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow.
2003 is looking like it will be a very busy year for Flook. We head off to
Australia in March for six weeks, and then in early May we'll be in
America for our first proper tour there - look out for dates and venues
for both tours on our website very soon
(http://www.flook.co.uk/html/diary.html).
We are still buzzing with the news that Rubai has been nominated for
Folk Album of the Year by the BBC, and can't wait to don the swanky
threads and party till we drop in London next month. And, we had
another honour just before Christmas when our gig at the Open
House Festival in Belfast was voted "Best Gig of the Festival",
thanks
in a huge way to the astonishing energy that was coming from the
audience in the John Hewitt that night - never felt anything like it!
Thanks to main man, festival organiser and good friend Kieran
Gilmore who invited us over and made the gig so memorable.
Speaking of memorable concerts, we've just heard that our
appearance at the Edinburgh Folk Club last May was "Folk
Performance of the Year" in Scotland on Sunday's round up of gigs in
2002.
That's all the news for now. We've lots more summer dates to tell you
about, but will wait until nearer the time....
See you along the way...
Brian, Sarah, Ed and John Joe
VII. FLUTE CARE
Could you include the URL to this page in your next newsletter? I think it might help those folks who are having problems with their flutes.
http://www.hmtrad.com/articles/olwellcare.html
Thanks
Wendy Morrison
VIII. FROM GREY LARSEN
Dear Friends and Relatives,
I am sending this to many of you at once, so I hope you will indulge the impersonal nature of this email.
As a freelance musician, I am realizing that my mailing list is the most valuable tool I have for advancing my career. This is becoming more evident all the time, as email and the internet offer independent musicians like myself more ways to expand their audience. Like many others, I am acting as my own record label, promotional department, booking agency, etc., etc.
So, I am requesting, if you wish to, that you send me email addresses (or snail mail if they don't have email) of people you know who you are pretty sure would like to be on my mailing list, people who might well be interested in hearing my music, though they might not know it yet.
However, I want to be sensitive to the issue of unwanted email and snail mail. I do not want to be a spammer. So, I will send to the people you refer to me a brief invitation to join my mailing list, and I won't sign them up unless they ask me to. Or, if you prefer, you can forward this email to such friends. I don't plan to send out more than about half a dozen messages a year.
I will be officially releasing my newest CD, "Dark of the Moon", in January or February, and that will be the time of my next mailing. Most of April I will be performing and teaching in Australia. This summer my first book will be published, "The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle". These are some of the exciting things coming up for me.
Here's hoping that you too have wonderful things to look forward to.
Many thanks for your help, and happy holidays to you,
Grey Larsen
Grey’s email is grey@greylarsen.com
IX.SCIENCE ON THE MARCH
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida
(AP) -- Space shuttle Columbia's astronauts set small fires inside their
orbiting laboratory Sunday in a scientific study of soot.
(soot)
X.
VISITATION:
Poems by Dale Wisely
V i s i t a t i
o nxx
p o e
m s xxx
D a l e W i s e l y
xx
After working on it a
long time, I have published my first collection of poems. This is actually a “chapbook,”
which is a shorter collection. It
is about 40 pages and consists of 25 poems.
In December, I was invited to do a reading and signing at a local
independent bookstore. Much to my
delight, 80 copies were sold in a hour. In
addition, another 20 or so have sold here or there and I gave away 25 copies
or so to people who were particularly supportive and helpful to me.
I decided to self-publish
the book because, I figured, only people who know me would buy it (it’s
poetry after all) and self-publishing would give me control and access to
almost all of the “profits” (speaking loosely). And, I decided that all proceeds
beyond my printing costs would go to charity.
Now, I’d like to offer the book to you folks. The timing is good because my daughter
Angela was one of five senior girls nominated for “Queen of Hearts” at her
high school. This is cool deal. They get nominated and they have one
month to collect money for charity and the person raising the most money wins.
I’ve set up a little
website about the book, featuring sample poems, at http://www.dalewisely.com/visitation/
There’s a page where you can
order via PayPal and, of course, if you don’t normally use PayPal, they will
accept your credit card.
I’d be very grateful
for your support of this project. I
have to do have another printing done as I pretty much sold out the original
run of 150 copies. So, it will
likely take 3 or 4 weeks to get your copy to you, as I’d like to wait for a
week or so to see how orders go.
Thanks!
XI. AND SPEAKING OF POETRY
At long last...
After a long, long absence....
the return of...
TINWHISTLE HAIKU!
Fingers slide slowly
Breath ethereally floats
Bringing me pleasure.
Dance the jigs of time
Whilst the whistle blower plays
My heart lifts with joy.
Slender tube, warm steel
Exciting my inner self
As selkie calls me.
Selkie (Jacqui Adams)
************************************************************************
Jumble-sale whistle
Inviting bored sheep to dance
On empty hillsides
Guitars gently weep...
Even when I play laments
My whistle's cocky
Whistle away dear,
But remember the Guinness
Can spoil later play...
Wetting his whistle
While whistling, my Irish love
Voice dark as Guinness
Eastern Angle
************************************************
Seamus Egan plays
mean flute, whistle and guitar
Solas really rocks!
Jim "BrassBlower" Edwards
**************************************************
A cold whistle, flat,
sounds uncertain when singing.
Warmth sweetens its song
Brian Ormond
**************************************************
Thinwhistle haiku
Fipple in bellybutton
Wistle seppuku!
sagoteb.1
****************************************************
Tinwhistles. Haiku.
Prose poems fall like spring rain.
Be very afraid.
Pat H.
****************************************************
Messageboard wars flame
on as if whistles are a
serious matter.
Dale W.
****************************************************
My unplayed whistle
While Mary's disc plays again
Oh where to Bergin?
This slip jig's rhythm
Suddenly is taken ill
Tachycardia?
Nick Reiter
****************************************************
In ordered sequence
Notes and tones float through the air
From the breath within.
Generations old
And generation of today
Feel the whistle's sound.
Walden
****************************************************
On something I tread
Hear some noise "crack!" underneath
Oh my poor whistle
't was in perfect shape
Plastic fipple, plastic body
Now, is torn in two
O plastic whistle
Helpless ye; Fragility
is thine hideous Name.
Though lay my whistle
Shatter'd, on the floor, I see
memories of the past
All ye High Whistlers,
Rejoice, this Euphoria;
just breath in and out
Tak O.
****************************************************
Very special thanks to James Isaacs for collecting these haiku from various contributors.
Don't forget:
Chiff & Fipple a worldwide community of whistle-players. You may subscribe
to 6HOLE THEORY, this newsletter, by sending blank email to dwisely@chiffandfipple.com
with the word "SUBSCRIBE" in the subject line. A very active and
supportive message board forum is available at http:// chiffboard.mati.ca . An
unbearably extensive informational website for Chiff & Fipple is at
http://www.chiffandfipple.com.
Lord, help us see how near is your kingdom.